August 2010. It's always a tad nostalgic to skim through old emails, but that's how far back the first meeting was where it was discussed how we wanted to change diabetes care in South East Hampshire & Portsmouth. Many late nights, many meetings later, it was around September 2011, that the redesign of the diabetes model came into being.

In between that, there was the nervousness of contracts teams in hospitals, the debates with one's own Trust, the financial calculations involved, a lengthy conflict of interest panel, multiple negotiations, convincing colleagues....yet, finally we got there.The birth of the Super Six Diabetes Model.

Much has been written, many papers have been published and the mists of time make one forget who did help along the way.

Those were the days of Jim Hogan and Koyih Tan as GP commissioners, Lyn Darby as the local Commissioner, Melissa Way as the Strategy Implementation manager, Richard Jones as the Medicine Chief and Lesley Munro as the manager from the local community provider. Some steadfast supporters, and of course, three fabulous colleagues within the department who let you get on with it.

The course of time has been kind to us and about six-and-a-half years later, the model continues as we discuss the next steps.

GP practices should regularly audit treatments for type 2 diabetes to ensure "appropriate targeted use of licensed medications and their cost-effectiveness", a study has concluded.

The way agents licensed to treat the condition were used across GP practices in England in the year 2016/17 was analysed as part of the research published by The International Journal of Clinical Practice. To read more, click here.

The UK’s biggest conference for healthcare professionals working in diabetes has launched an awards programme to reward excellence in the diabetes industry.

Diabetes Professional Care (DPC) has teamed up with The Diabetes Times to unveil the project, which aims to showcase success and innovation across the industry including pharmaceutical, medical device and life sciences industries working in diabetes care.

Submissions for the 15 categories will open on May 1 and the ceremony will take place in London during this year’s DPC on the evening of Wednesday, November 14, to mark World Diabetes Day. To read more, click here.

The Eatwell Plate has been slammed in the European Parliament, with the concept of basing diets on starchy foods branded “misguided”.

The guideline says meals should include potatoes, bread, rice, pasta or other starchy carbohydrates, with low or reduced-fat cheese and yoghurt and preferably unsaturated oils and spreads. To read more, click here.

Researchers from the University of Florida suggest the move could also boost prevention efforts in people currently considered healthy and avoid penalties and stigmatisation of other groups classified as high risk of abnormal blood glucose. To read more, click here.

Artificial pancreas systems are a “safe and effective” treatment for people with type 1 diabetes, a study published by The BMJ has concluded.

A review of the available evidence has concluded that the use of an artificial pancreas was associated with better control of blood sugar levels for people with type 1 diabetes compared with standard treatment.

The findings show that artificial pancreas treatment provides almost two and a half extra hours of normal blood glucose levels a day, while reducing time in both high hyperglycaemia and hypoglycaemia.

Diabetes Professional Care (DPC) has made the final of a prestigious national contest in four categories.

Healthcare Publishing & Events, the company behind the event, lined up alongside some of the industry’s biggest names at the coveted Exhibition News Awards (EN Awards) – held at Battersea Evolution in London on March 23. To read more, click here.